Heartlines
by Kathryne Buzolic
Summary: She was a never ending mystery, a constant source of intrigue. What was so strange about it was how open she was with him. Never really holding anything back, letting him know exactly what she was thinking. And he loved that about her. Stiles/OC Random Oneshot


_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,_

_While loving someone deeply gives you courage._

—Lao Tzu

There were few words available in the English language to describe her, that much he was sure of. She was kind, naturally, intelligent, confident, witty, determined—though sometimes the best word was stubborn. But those were all plain words, so overused. How could he possibly describe someone with so many layers? It had taken nearly ten years for him to get through all of them. Even now, part of him was sure that there were still more to her. Of course there would be. She was a never ending mystery, a constant source of intrigue. What was so strange about it was how open she was with him. Never really holding anything back, letting him know _exactly _what she was thinking. And he loved that about her.

Stiles would never admit it to anyone besides Scott, but he'd had a crush on her since the third grade. Some days, he swore she knew, but others, when it was painfully obvious, she was seemingly oblivious to his 'hidden' affections. One day in fifth grade, he'd come dangerously close to her finding out, so he'd spouted out a lie about liking Lydia Martin. She'd seemed a bit resigned, but eventually had grinned at him and shaken her head, apparently amused by his revelation.

It was frustrating sometimes, honestly, when she seemed to miss the lingering glances or abrupt blushes. He couldn't decide if it was easier for her to remain in the dark, or to just man up and tell her. Every year, he promised himself he'd tell her, and every year, he chickened out. It was a fifty-fifty chance. Risk and reward. The risk just seemed too..._Risky. _Which was a bit redundant, but every time he stared into those sea-foam green eyes—a peculiar color, really—his tongue felt like lead and he had to stammer through sentences just to get something mildly coherent out. Everything about her drew him in. Her wide, sparkling eyes, soft laugh, the way her nose scrunched up when she was thinking, how she'd look up at him through a thick curtain of black hair, and her smile. The secretive, inviting and somewhat mischievous smile that was always directed at him. It wasn't _fair. _She was, first and foremost, his best friend—aside from Scott, of course—and almost every time he was even near her, he got tongue tied and ended up saying the stupidest thing possible.

At some point or another, she started dating other guys. Started abandoning their crappy movie nights to go on dates and cutting their after school time together short so she could see whoever she was dating at the time. Then, eventually, she'd show up at his house crying, needing the comfort that only ten years of friendship could provide. And he would always oblige. The only thing worse than the jealousy he felt when he saw another boy making her laugh was the anger that came when he saw her walls crumble and the tears running down her cheeks.

Somewhere near the end of sophomore year, she stopped dating altogether, claiming that the only guy she was interested in was unavailable. He had subtly tried to get a name out of her, curiosity burning through him like a fire. Yet she'd never tell. Every time he asked, she simply pressed her lips together and shook her head.

Scott had given him sympathetic looks before chuckling and looking away as if there was a joke aimed at Stiles that he was missing. It was infuriating because no matter how many times he asked, he'd never get an answer.

Finally, it got to be enough that on her birthday, he simply had to tell her, whatever the consequences might be...Maybe Scott's optimism had rubbed off on him a bit.

* * *

He was always there for her, no matter what. On the morning of her seventeenth birthday, she marveled on that while chewing absently on a piece of toast. There was no one in her life like Stiles. Someone who was smart, funny, caring, and had the ability to make her smile when she felt like crying. Scott and Allison were her friends, of course, but, for some reason, not like Stiles was.

It was hard to explain, honestly. For a while, she'd considered him the goofy brother she'd never asked for. The spaz that came into her house, ate all her food, and disappeared again. And she hadn't minded that. It had been nice, having such an immediately familiar presence around. Then...over time..That had changed. She couldn't pinpoint when exactly, but she did remember one day in fifth grade when she heard Scott and Stiles talking about a girl he'd "liked since third grade." When she'd popped over their shoulders and asked who, Stiles had spluttered a little bit before saying Lydia Martin. She'd felt oddly...put out by the fact. It took her nearly a year to figure out why.

When she did, she'd sat in her room for an hour, a bit dazed. Was it possible for her to _like _Stiles? He was her best friend! Like her brother! She _couldn't _like him. Not that it really mattered, since he was apparently head over heels in love with Lydia. Still, it was puzzling. Why Stiles, of all people?

It wasn't necessarily a _bad _thing, per se. More or less, it was just awkward. A one-sided awkwardness that never seemed to go away. As the years went on and their friendship grew stronger, the question of why seemed to fade away.

He knew everything about her without asking. How she still had a somewhat irrational fear of the dark, how she apparently had six smiles—he'd never truly explained that...—the way she always pretended she was fine with everything when on the inside she was furious. All of her quirks and habits never escaped him. The same could be said for her. She loved the way he tried to diffuse tension with jokes, or simply used plain sarcasm to hide a good portion of his anxiety.

Eventually, however, she had to experiment with other guys. See if any of them could make her feel in a week the way Stiles did in five minutes. None of them ever did. Oh, she liked them all just fine, but it wasn't the same. She didn't get the warm feeling of immediate comfort when she was with them. So she broke off every relationship. Well, sometimes it wasn't her that ended it. Either way, she'd find herself in tears. Not because it was a love lost, but because she just _couldn't _move on from him. She tried everything she could. She adored him, and that was infuriating because he was her best friend. She wasn't supposed to feel that way about her best friend, especially not when he was practically in love with a true beauty like Lydia Martin.

Finally, she just gave up, claiming abstinence and simply telling Scott and Stiles that the only person she was interested in was unavailable. Not necessarily a lie. However, she'd caught Scott shaking his head and giving her a knowing look, as if to say, _Whatever you say, Hannah._

She'd found it somewhat amusing when Stiles had tried to get a name out of her, though puzzling as well. He'd distanced himself from her romantic life—why would he suddenly care?

She wasn't blind. She'd never missed the long looks he'd given her over the years, or the blush that would splotchily spread over his cheeks at some of the most random moments. Sometimes, she wondered if maybe, just maybe, he liked her. Then Lydia Martin would walk by, all strawberry blonde and curves, and his attention would go elsewhere. So she ignored it. Convinced herself it was nothing. Hannah had resigned herself to simply accepting that the only boy she liked would never feel that way about her. Some days she'd considered telling him, but it could easily become awkward, so she kept her mouth shut.

* * *

As her seventeenth birthday stretched on and Allison arrived early to help her get ready, she realized something. Something that her mother had told her a lot. _You don't know if you don't try, Hannah. It might be scary, but sometimes you need to just take a leap of faith. Sometimes, the best things come out of those moments where you just take a risk._

Allison looked over at her curiously, noticing her sudden thoughtfulness. "You okay?" the Argent girl asked, brows furrowing in concern. Hannah blinked, looking over at her.

"Yeah, fine." she murmured, picking up her lip gloss again. "What about you? Are you sure you wanna come? I won't hold it against you if you don't. I mean, Scott'll be here, and I don't know how awkward that could be for you—" She was cut off by Allison shaking her head.

"No, I'm fine. It's your birthday. And, yeah, it'll be a little awkward, but I can't hide from him forever." she pointed out. Nodding, Hannah looked back in the mirror and applied a thin layer of lip gloss.

"Well, good. Because aside from Scott and Stiles, you're really like my only friend." she said, grinning at her reflection.

"And that's why there are fifty plus people coming to your party."

"Hey, blame Lydia. She heard the word party and just invited everyone to my house. Which is, I guess, better than making fun of me. I just hope nothing gets broken.

"With Stiles in the house? Good luck."

* * *

A few hours later, Hannah's birthday party was in full swing, teenagers milling about her house aimlessly, occasionally shouting a 'happy birthday' over the loud music before returning to their dancing. The petite girl stood up on her tiptoes, trying to see over several heads. So far, it wasn't working. With a slight grumble, she dragged out a chair from the table in the backyard and stood on top of it. From her vantage point, she could see almost everyone that had attended the party.

In one side of the yard, Allison was standing by Lydia, who was most likely flirting with the tall brunette lacrosse player with them. Allison looked up and spotted Hannah, giving her a friendly wave before looking away awkwardly. Raising an eyebrow, Hannah turned slightly to look behind her, where Scott and Stiles were making their way through the crowd. Beaming, she hopped down from the white chair and tried to get to them, jumping up occasionally to get their attention. Sometimes, being short was murder.

"Hannah?" Scott called, finally pushing through the last of the lacrosse team and stopping in front of her. Her smile widened and she threw her arms around him tightly.

"Scotty!" she yelled cheerfully when she pulled away. "Glad to see you!" He grinned at her, puppy-like eyes wide and friendly, while Stiles stumbled over, apparently getting knocked into by people. Without a word, Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug.

"W-wow. Okay. I don't see you for two days and you strangle me. That's..That's wonderful. Next time, I'll just send a card." he said sarcastically, causing her to squeeze him tightly until he yelped. "Yield!"

Pulling away and straightening out her dress, she gave her two best friends a wide grin. "It's good to see you guys."

"You too. Happy birthday." Scott said, looking around quickly before returning his eyes to her. She shrugged, casually looping her arm through Stiles', who suddenly looked flustered.

"Thanks, I guess." she replied, wrinkling up her nose. "I really wasn't expecting this many people, but apparently, Lydia wanted to have a lot of boys to flirt with." Rolling her eyes, she glanced up at Stiles, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet. Removing her arm from his and quirking a brow, she laughed. Looking at the empty space next to her, she realized Scott had disappeared. Well, that wasn't unusual.

"Too much Adderall?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard over the music. He jumped slightly, looking around wildly before realizing she was talking to him.

"Uh, no, actually. Just a little...Uh...Anxious, I guess." he said, shaking his head quickly. She tilted her head to the side, hair cascading down her shoulder.

"Anxious? What for?"

"Uh...You wanna go inside? I have to tell you something..." he trailed off, looking just over her head uncomfortably. Eyebrows raised, she nodded, grabbing his hand and weaving through the crowds of people expertly. Leading him into the house, she stopped at the kitchen, hopping up on the counter and looking at him curiously. He was pretty jittery...

"What's up, Stilinski?" she asked, voice at a normal level for the first time in a few hours. Faintly, she could hear the thumping of the music outside, which seemed to match the pace of her heartbeat. She was surprised he couldn't hear it with how fast it was beating. He opened and closed his mouth, seemingly at a loss for words. She waited, looking at him with open curiosity.

"I...Uh..Well, you see...Uh...First off, happy birthday." he said finally. She chuckled, shaking her head and grabbing his hand, which had been about to rest on the counter next to her. He jumped in surprise, causing her to let out another laugh.

"Thanks. You know, you're jumpier than usual tonight. Derek drop by your house and Alpha out on you?" she asked playfully, lacing her fingers with his. It wasn't unusual for them to occasionally hold hands, but that seemed to fluster him even more.

After a good minute of him trying to find words—and failing—she sighed, releasing his hand and drawing him out of whatever sentence he was spluttering through. Gathering her courage, she cleared her throat.

"All right, Stiles, since you're apparently unable to speak, let me tell you something I've been meaning to for a while now." Ignoring the fluttering in her stomach and the voice in her head babbling incoherently, she forced herself to look him in the eye. He raised an eyebrow, mouth still for once. "It's my seventeenth birthday, and I know you're well aware of this, and you probably already got me something, like you always do, but there's one thing I wan to do right now that you may or may not agree to." Her eyes darted down to her hands and she chewed on her bottom lip. He opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head, looking up again. _Oh, god...Am I really doing this right now? I mean, I could make up a lie if I needed too...No. Hannah, you're doing this and you're doing this __now.__ It's now or never. Just do it, chicken!_

Taking a deep breath, she stared at him for a few seconds, watching as his confused face slowly became one of, dare she say it, understanding? Opening her mouth to speak again, she tried to form the words, but they all seemed to stick to her tongue. "I..." she paused, shaking her head. Stiles tried to speak again, but she put a finger to his lips. "I...Okay, words...Not working out so much." she muttered, shaking her head and meeting his eyes again.

She was feeling positively sick with nerves. What was she doing? It was _his _job to stutter and try to form complete sentences, not hers! Swallowing, she breathed deeply, closing her eyes and trying to summon up the courage to do what she had wanted to do for a long time. Just as she was about to blurt it out, something soft and warm touched her lips. More specifically, _his _lips. Were on hers. And she was definitely awake.

…...

Well.

That was unexpected.

* * *

**I honestly have no idea what this is. I sat down to write the new chapter for one of my other fics, and this came out. The OC, Hannah, is one I've never used - or thought of - and the whole document sort of wrote itself. Which, I really can't say is good or bad. I decided to post this and see what happens. For the most part, I think it's okay. All of the dialogue parts are a bit iffy though. And I'm totally not even sure about the ending. So, basically, this might suck ass. If it does, my apologies. If, however, you enjoyed it and would want me to expand on it, let me know in a PM or review! I'm not opposed to working on this with a slightly different plot, or just making a series of oneshots. But only if it's even interesting to anyone. Isn't it kinda funny what the muse can cook up when you're trying to write an update for a fic you abandoned this time last year? I think so, at least. lol**

**So, tell me what you think! Love it? Hate it? Wish for more or wish it made some sliver of sense? Let me know! (But please, no flames. I can handle constructive criticism, but I don't care for people being jerk-ish. :))  
**


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